Triangle
by therubyone
Summary: For Drake, Josh & Mindy, can too much love be a bad thing? Josh can't choose between them. Will there be a showdown while attending a wedding together? Dramedy. Rated: T for adult situations, love triangle, het & slash-not explicit, gay marriage
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Not related to or sanctioned by Dan Schneider and/orViacomm, who are the legal owners of _Drake and Josh_. For fun only, no profit here. Please don't hurt me!

**Author:** therubyone

**Rated:** T - for adult situations (love triangle, het, slash, gay marriage)

**Dedications:** With thanks to **flareonfury** for hosting **_The Summer of Blues & Love Multifandom Drabble-a-thon_**. Special thanks to **rhapchan** for her saucy depiction of this threesome/prompt, which was the inspiration for this treatment. I seem to be stuck on this wedding theme, using it for the last story I posted. Then I was totally blown away by **GatorGrrrl**'s marvelous _The Best_ _Man_. With nods to all mentioned for their fine writing. I present to you a dramedy, which I hope you will enjoy. Last but not least, thanks to **spaceraider** for the encouraging words.

**Time period/setting:** Let's go forward in time to when the characters are in their mid- 20's.

**A/N:** As always, your thoughts and feedback are welcomed.

**Pairing:** Drake/Josh/Mindy threesome

**Prompt:** Wedding

_**TRIANGLE**_

_**Chapter 1. - Pas de Trois**_

_(Josh POV)_

Josh Nichols loved to cook. He had also concluded that sex was a lot like cooking. Stir vigorously here, add a pinch there, turn up the heat as needed, but always watch the pot carefully, adjusting the treatment as you went along. It was all a matter of combining the right ingredients in order to tease the palate, to reach the desired objective. In this case, Josh's goal was to render Mindy helpless. Pressing on, he kept up his barrage, and before long she was clutching the sheets, panting and moaning, all thoughts of her Science Fair victories and superior class ranking driven from her mind.

Gritting his teeth, sweating heavily, Josh battered on, past Mindy's defenses, past what he called her "background." Mindy had grown up in a household of perfectionists, who had pushed her to excel from the time she was born, quietly molding her into the perfect little overachieving snob. Her whole life was fenced in by "No" until finally, after begging her parents at every turn, they allowed her to attend public high school, so she could fulfill her secret dream to live out the "normal" life of a teen, that she'd read about in books and seen in the movies. No wonder she'd gone off the rails when Mrs. Hafer had given her a "B."

Under Josh's knowing hands, Mindy revealed the soft little girl hidden inside. She clutched Josh tightly, eyes still closed, swearing her undying love, murmuring a string of cloying pet names into his chest. This was how Josh liked Mindy the best. This was the person he could build a life with, not the snide one who tried to browbeat and manipulate him, someone who could withhold her kisses to win an argument. If only he could keep Mindy from finding out that there was nothing inside him!

Josh made sure that Mindy had several intense orgasms, in quick succession, leaving her slightly sore and shuddering. Before she could catch her breath, Josh softly kissed the top of her head. As he tenderly smoothed the hair out of her eyes, he made his request. She could deny him nothing when she was like this. And so she agreed, without protest. She would be his guest at the wedding of Craig and Eric. Next Saturday she would accompany him - and Drake.

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_(Drake POV)_

Drake stared at the formalwear hanging in the closet.

"Monkey suit!" he muttered.

As he started to get dressed, Drake played back his memories from the night before. Making love with Josh was like attempting to tame a wild stallion. Josh was all lean, hard muscle, and sometimes Drake could only cling to Josh for dear life, going along for the galloping ride. Josh knew Drake's every secret turn-on and played Drake like a guitar. Josh was always looking for new things to try and his research had been extensive. This technique was Greek. That was – something else; Drake couldn't remember what it was called, he only knew that it felt like heaven. Josh loved being an _educator_! Drake found it completely Josh-ish. "Oh, and you might be interested to learn, the French call the orgasm 'the little death.'" Drake knew what _that _meant. Every time he achieved such an intense physical union with Josh, it was as though a part of him died and thus belonged to Josh. Feeling spent and helpless, with no barriers left between them, Drake would have said or done anything Josh asked. That was when Josh persuaded him to go to the wedding.

As Drake buttoned his starched white shirt, he rubbed his left pec. In the shower this morning, while they were fooling around, he had bitten Josh – and Josh had returned the favor. Drake hadn't looked, but it felt like there was a bruise. Funny, it hadn't hurt at the time. Despite his reluctance, Drake certainly couldn't back out now: no way would he let Mindy one-up him. He finished getting ready, shaking his hair into place, checking the Windsor knot in the mirror, confident that he looked gooooood. He slipped on his shiny dress shoes, armed and ready to do battle.

Drake couldn't pinpoint when things had changed, since he and Josh had become lovers. Their relationship, to him, had seemed to evolve in a natural way. Of course Josh was the sort that had to excel at everything he tried. There was an experimental phase, followed by an adventurous phase, which began with a blindfold, and later came the toys. These days and nights, Josh was always taking him by surprise, bedding him so frequently, so unexpectedly, and so thoroughly that Drake fantasized and dreamed about it when they were apart, even shamefacedly calling out "Josh!" when he should have been concentrating on the fangirl he'd chosen for his evening entertainment. Josh was pretty much in charge. Drake knew it, and so did Josh. A glance, a wink, a certain touch accompanied by a low growl, that was all Josh had to do to make him crumble. It was almost starting to _scare_ Drake, the hold that Josh had over him. Almost. Once he'd finally edged Mindy out of the picture – permanently! - _then_ they could sort things out between the two of them.

Continued in Chapter 2


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** _Drake and Josh_ - so wonderful, but not mine. No infringement intended!

**Author:** therubyone

**Rated**: T - for adult situations (love triangle, het, slash, gay marriage)

**_TRIANGLE_**

_**Chapter 2. – Ties that Bind (and Gag!)**_

_(Josh POV)_

Josh escorted Drake on his left arm and Mindy on his right arm, his darling prizes, the two of them dressed to kill, sullen but compliant, and on their best behavior. Josh felt like he had two snarling tigers by the tail, and either one could turn and destroy him at any moment. He knew it couldn't last. Mindy would find someone smarter, richer, someone she could boss around, and someone who'd be good enough to meet her parents' standards.

With Drake it was a question of numbers and therefore a matter of time. Josh would never deny Drake his penchant for the girls; it was Drake's natural gift and his right as a fledgling rock star. Drake was Josh's personal American idol. Josh had never seen a man with finer, silkier hair, or more freckles. Drake openly boasted of his positive rating on _**metalsludge**_. One day Drake would meet a girl whom he didn't _want_ to forget. Then Josh would be alone. Why would the great Drake Parker ever settle for a life-long commitment to his boyhood sidekick, as long as he had a hot, heaving mass of fresh, nubile teens competing for his affections?

Josh's appearance had changed drastically throughout four years of high school and well beyond. He no longer had to stick olives up his nose or do magic tricks to get attention. Josh had acquired poise, panache and a magnificent, hardy physique that kept him going to the gym five times a week. It never ceased to amaze Josh the way people responded to him, based solely on his looks. It saddened him that everyone was so superficial. Girls and guys often flirted with him, but Josh politely ignored them. He had the best of the best, why should he settle for less?

Josh had promised himself that whether it was Drake or Mindy that stayed with him the longest, to the winner he would surrender completely. Then and only then he'd open himself and share his thoughts and feelings, and if he was rejected, he would accept it as inevitable. Who wanted to stay with a hollow man, riddled with a host of foolish insecurities and longings? But until the final act played out, to remain sane, Josh had to maintain his control. After several years of this madness, it was taking its toll on him.

Drake and Mindy had hated each other since the car-in-the-classroom incident way back when, and because of the triangle, their warfare continued to escalate. It was held in check by Josh's ability to successfully play them off each other. When Josh slept by himself, his nights were troubled; instead of sleeping, he stared at the ceiling, wondering if there was a special place in hell reserved for him, for what he was doing. He was walking a tightrope, no doubt. He tried to make sure his bed was nearly always occupied, keeping both Mindy and Drake vying for the spot.

Josh felt immense pride as all heads turned to look at him and his two lovers, making an entrance. In the car on the way over, Drake and Mindy had sniped back and forth over whose side of the church to sit on. Josh had driven the car into a gas station and parked before either of them noticed the vehicle was no longer moving. He sighed and splayed his hands out on the steering wheel. Then he reached in his pocket for the foil roll he carried at all times. He retrieved a chalky white tablet and swallowed it with minimal chewing. "Headaches," he muttered. "Stomachaches."

Mindy had turned and hissed at Drake, "See how you've upset him?"

From the back seat, Drake had glared at Mindy, indignantly spluttering "Hey!" He wanted to say more, but caught Josh's eyes, spearing him from the reflection in the rearview mirror, so he held his tongue.

Josh let Drake win this round, since both he and Drake had known Eric one year longer than Craig. Mindy hadn't met them until high school. Mindy had, in fact, "dated" Craig briefly, before Josh, until she figured out that Craig didn't even know they were dates. To be fair, because Mindy was sitting in the front seat, Josh owed Drake one. Josh had to keep the tally even.

As their eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the sanctuary, Josh carefully led his precious arm candy to the right, and the three of them took their seats in a pew. Josh sat in the middle.

Moments later, when Craig and Eric arrived at their appointed places in front of the altar, Drake whispered, "I forget. Which one is Eric?"

The minute Mindy began to spew an acerbic response to what she considered an idiotic question, Josh slipped his large hand around her left arm and gently but firmly squeezed her wrist. She closed her mouth and swallowed her anger, rustling slightly in place, to show her displeasure.

Josh smiled at this little victory. He turned to Drake and answered, "Eric has a red carnation in his lapel, and Craig is wearing a white one."

Drake was so much easier to handle, in every way, than Mindy. After all, he and Drake did share a similar physiology. In their younger days, living under the same roof, becoming stepbrothers and best friends, Josh (ever the keen observer) had rapidly become used to Drake's ways. But Drake's pranks and taking Josh for granted were all a thing of the past.

All morning, before they collected Mindy from her condo, Drake had been badgering Josh for a 3-way. Mindy felt that _she_ had the hometown advantage, since Drake was away touring for months at a time. But Drake lived with Josh when in San Diego, which he felt gave _him_ the edge. Drake wanted the chance to show Mindy what he was made of. Drake was sure he could win. Drake and Mindy were constantly pestering Josh, "Choose!" That was exactly what Josh found impossible to do.

Josh considered Drake's suggestion absurd: he'd never expose himself in a ménage a trois. If the two of them united, he knew Drake and Mindy could melt him like butter. Neither of them was aware of the vast power they actually held over him; they were his first, only and truest loves. They were each under the illusion that _he_ had all the power, he thought, because of his ability to dominate them in bed. This was exactly how Josh intended to keep the equation of this triangle - for as long as his stamina held out.

The wedding ceremony was conducted by a minister and a rabbi. The happy couple, now husband and husband, practically sailed down the aisle and out of the church, in a haze of cameras flashing, flower petals and applause.

Josh was relieved that they had gotten through the nuptials without a hitch. He was beginning to hope the reception would go as smoothly. Craig had promised to seat Josh and his two paramours at the same table.

Continued in Chapter 3


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**No profit sought nor infringement intended. So not owned by me.

**Author:** therubyone

**Rated**: T - for adult situations (love triangle, het, slash, gay marriage)

_**TRIANGLE**_

_**Chapter 3. - Reception**_

Making their way across the Ramada Sommerville banqueting room, Josh and Mindy sat down at their assigned places. Josh took a moment to admire Mindy in her strapless ¾-lenth gown, the skirt billowing out slightly over layers of chiffon. The off-white dress was adorned with a striking pattern of red and pink camellias, which added fetching bursts of color. Mindy's hair and make-up were expertly done and she smelled alluring, her perfume light and citrusy. Josh drank in her beauty and thought "Mine!"

Mindy edged her chair a little closer to Josh. Smiling, she took his hand, whispering "I'm convinced I'm with the handsomest man here!"

Abruptly, Drake pushed between the two of them, setting a plate of king prawns on the table in front of Josh. Everyone knew of Josh's appetite for really big shrimp.

"I even brought you some cocktail sauce," Drake said to Josh, while flashing an evil grin at Mindy. Mindy was miffed that Drake had gotten to the appetizer table first.

"Thank you. That was thoughtful of you to bring enough for all of us to share."

"You enjoy your treat, honey, while _I_ go get us some drinks." Mindy flounced off to the bar.

"Remember: I'm the designated driver! Some ginger ale would be nice," Josh called to her retreating figure, as she tottered away in her exquisite designer shoes. Josh had heard at the health food store that ginger in any form was good for a man's **vitality**. God knew he needed all the help he could get.

Drake sat down in Mindy's vacant chair, pulling it even closer to Josh, so their arms were touching. He fed Josh a shrimp.

"Do you ever imagine you and me taking the plunge like this?"

_Every day_, Josh thought, but replied, "Well, maybe - if they ever legalize a marriage like ours would be. I don't know what they'd call it, though, because Mindy would be my wife and you would be my husband, but I don't see you and Mindy ever living in close quarters."

"You got that right. She's gone from Creature to Queen Cobra! I've never been able to understand what you see in her, Josh."

"And that's what I always say to Josh about you," added Mindy, plunking two drinks on the table.

Josh stood up and squeezed Drake's shoulder, "I'll get you a drink. You want the usual?"

"Make it a Mocha Cola. I'll wait for the toast to have some champagne."

Josh was glad to step away from the table for a breather. Mindy and Drake were having a difficult time remembering their promise to be civil to each other. It was a special occasion and Josh had been curious for some time to see how Drake and Mindy would behave in close proximity. Since they were surrounded by so many people they knew, Josh hoped there wouldn't be any bloodshed. He ate another Tums. It was going to be an _unusual_ night.

It seemed like at least one-third of Belleview's graduating class was in attendance. Yermo, their former exchange student, had even sent a message from Schizzmenistan: it was displayed on a large stand of flowers near the guest book so everyone could see it. Craig and Eric had gone all out and spared no expense, including an open bar.

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Drake stopped the waiter and snagged a glass of champagne from the tray.

"You're supposed to wait for the toast!" carped Mindy.

"Eric made a killing on the stock market and I don't think he'd mind if an old friend took an extra glass of champagne."

Mindy was surprised at how nervous she felt, especially about how the evening was going to end. If Josh didn't come home with her, she didn't know if she could stand it. Their arrangement generally worked because Josh kept her and Drake segregated. She couldn't understand why it was so important to Josh for all three of them to attend this wedding. The drinks relaxed her nerves, and she became increasingly _relaxed _during dinner.

Drake was doing his best to ignore Mindy's incessant digs. What was harder to ignore were all the baby names she kept cooing at Josh. She kept touching him, as though _she_ owned him.

The servers began clearing away the plates from dinner, so Josh saw his chance to say a few words to the newlyweds. He excused himself and went over to the head table. Josh congratulated Craig and Eric and they all made pleasant small talk, until Craig only half-jokingly said, "Maybe the next time you bring your pets out to play, Josh, you ought to remember their muzzles and choke-chains!"

Josh turned from the dais to see Drake and Mindy standing, gesturing, up in each other's faces, talking loudly. Josh rushed over to break up the argument.

"And that wristwatch he wears every single day? It's got two hearts engraved on the back, one with a 'D' and one with a 'J'" –

"_I_ gave him those cufflinks, 18 karat, inlaid with genuine jade, to match his eyes. All the way from _China_!"

Josh put himself between the quarrelling pair, moving them apart from each other, his arms encircling their waists. As soon as he touched them, they began to calm down.

"Do we need to go outside for some air? Come on. Let's take a little walk together."

By the time they returned from a stroll around the parking lot, the toasts had been made. Josh was relieved that Mindy had missed the champagne and asked the waitress to bring her some coffee. They sat down just as Eric playfully smeared some cake in Craig's face.

Surprised, Craig called out, with a hint of dismay, "_Eric_!"

Craig retaliated, but Eric was so elated, he didn't mind. He giggled as he removed his glasses, now coated with fluffy white buttercream frosting, and led Craig onto the dance floor; their two sets of parents came forward to join them for the first dances.

The lights dimmed and the music started. Josh whispered to Drake that he was going to dance with Mindy first because he wanted to test her coordination. Drunkenness and high heels were not a good combination. As Josh expertly squired Mindy around the dance floor, he found her unsteady. He wasn't concentrating on the song or the lyrics, but Mindy was:

"_And when you're lying next to me  
There's no where else I'd rather be  
The only thing I wanna do  
Is keep on makin' love to you_

_This is serious  
And I can't wait until we get home  
Yeah I'm delirious  
No I can't wait until we're alone_"

She sniffed and tried to dab a tear from her eye without mussing her makeup. "Are we serious, Josh? Or am I just your Barbie doll?"

"Mindy, I am not doing this right now, so don't even go there. I want you to take a break and sit in the ladies' lounge for 15 minutes. Then stay put at our table and drink your coffee, very slowly." Josh had continued dancing her in the right direction and waited until he saw the door of the restroom close behind her.

Josh headed to the bar. He found Drake there, drinking a bottle of beer. Josh waved and went to join him.

Eric's nephew Maury looked almost like a clone of his uncle. Maury had been chatting all night with Craig's cousin Lopita. He was going to try something illegal; he was desperate to get laid. Maury stood at the end of the bar and unobtrusively sprinkled white powder into both the soft drinks he'd ordered. He turned aside, fumbling in his pocket, searching for the envelope containing the crushed-up tablets. The bartender put down the ginger ale that Drake had just ordered for Josh, as Maury scooped it up along with the doctored Mt. Fizz, leaving the tainted ginger ale behind in error.

Josh took a sip from the glass Drake handed him. His drink looked strange, a different color than he thought it should be. With the lights down, it was hard to see. He couldn't taste any liquor, so he assumed it was fine. Since he knew Drake wouldn't ask, Josh told him anyway about Mindy's condition.

Drake brightened. If Mindy turned herself into a puking, mewling drunk, who would most likely pass out, he knew that Josh would _not _be having sex with her tonight. _In your face, Crenshaw_, he thought.

Josh put his arm around Drake's shoulders, saying "I know you're not crazy about it, but I'd love it if you'd dance with me."

"Sure! As soon as we finish our drinks. I **do **feel like dancing tonight."

Drake waited for a slow song and cocked his head towards the dance floor. Josh took Drake's hand and away they went. Mindy sat at their table, looking out of it, her mascara smeared, while Drake and Josh danced cheek-to-cheek. As they passed her, Drake stuck his tongue out. She nearly spilled her coffee.

The next song that came on was in between slow and fast. Josh surprised Drake by not letting him leave the dance floor. Josh led Drake in a mock tango. Drake crooned along, _"You know I got it bad. You don't know how bad I got it." _He hoped Mindy was getting an eyeful.

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer:_** Yadda yadda yadda. Not mine. Not seeking a profit. No legal violation intended.

_**Rated:**_ T - love triangle, het, slash, gay marriage

**_Warning: _**In this chapter: bad word, het & slash kissing, adult situations (not graphic), gay marriage.

_**TRIANGLE**_

_**Chapter 4. - Undone**_

Craig's family had started packing up the gifts and extra cake as the liqueur cart trundled by. Josh was in the Gents' room, so Mindy asked for an Amaretto. Drake wasn't about to stop her!

Drake requested Bailey's. He recalled a time when he and Josh had gotten hammered on Bailey's, playing drinking games at their Aunt Barb's birthday bash. Josh hadn't been so _serious_ in those days.

"Ow!" Drake snapped back to the moment. Mindy was pelting him with Jordan almonds.

Mindy sat there smirking at him, the little bag of candy-coated favors in her hand.

Drake ripped open the netting on another bag, tore off the nut warning label, and zinged a handful back at Mindy as hard as he could.

Scottie was the only other person left at their table in the corner. Fresh from his second stay in rehab, he'd hardly said two words the whole night. Scottie's older brother Trevor had left right after dinner with his very pregnant wife. Scottie watched the mini-food fight with an amused grin. Then he leaned forward on his elbows and said "You two selfish brats might want to stop your childish bickering for once and put Josh first. You each keep insisting that you love him. But from where I'm sitting, it looks like a contest of egos."

Scottie tilted back in his chair, picked up one of the almond 'missiles' and ate it, chewing contentedly.

Embarrassed, Drake and Mindy nonchalantly quaffed their drinks, looking everywhere but at Scottie or each other.

Josh returned, his face flushed. He'd loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar. He automatically pulled two more alkaline tablets from his pocket stash and fed them to himself, one at a time.

"I don't know what it is, but I feel kind of dizzy and nauseous."

"Oh, God! I hope they didn't serve bad shrimp!" said Drake, horrified.

"You ate some, too. Do you feel sick to your stomach?"

"No," replied Drake.

"I do. A little. But I think it's a combination of caffeine and booze," answered Mindy.

Josh had his car keys in hand. "We'd better say goodbye to Eric and Craig. They're leaving for the Virgin Islands in the morning."

Josh carried Mindy across the asphalt lot to the car and installed her in the back seat, in case she needed to stretch out.

They hadn't gone five blocks when Josh suddenly started laughing about nothing. He lowered all the windows, needing to feel air on his face. "Let's go for a walk on the beach!"

During the half-hour drive to the shore, Drake and Mindy got into it again. Mindy had taken her shoes off. "If these weren't so expensive, I'd throw them at you!"

Drake slipped off a shoe, shouting, "Yeah? Mine weren't free, either!" With that he lobbed a size 9 Moreschi Martano at Mindy, who ducked, screaming, as the shoe went flying out the window.

Josh started laughing again. "Another forlorn single shoe on the highway, with its own sad story to tell!" His eyes watered he was laughing so hard.

Drake was more sober than Mindy. "Josh, are you alright?" he asked.

"Fine and dandy. And hungry. Who wants pizza?!"

"Josh, you NEVER eat pizza – not since high school!" said Mindy, taking notice.

Minutes away from the beach, Josh found a stand that served pizza by the slice. He seemed to wobble a little as he took the cash out of his wallet. He took off his tie and tossed it with his jacket into the trunk. Drake and Mindy nibbled at their slices and watched, dumbstruck, as Josh inhaled his piece, then went back and got two more slices, which he wolfed down in record time.

When they arrived at the beach, Mindy ripped off her panty hose, since they were already torn. Drake stuck his two socks into his remaining shoe and saw Josh up ahead drop his shoes and socks on the sand, as he lurched towards the ocean. Mindy followed but quickly grew chilled from the sea breeze. She pulled her diaphanous wrap tighter around her bare shoulders and plopped into a beach chair someone had left behind, and huddled behind her knees as she tried to keep warm.

After retrieving Josh's items, Drake caught up to Josh, who was facing the ocean, arms out wide, waves lapping at his toes. Josh scanned the horizon.

"When it's time to end it all, I think I'll do it in the ocean. There's nothing bigger than the ocean. Going home to the ocean. Yup."

"What's up with you?" asked Drake, a sense of cold dread snaking down his spine. "I've never heard this kind of talk from you before."

"Sorry!" said Josh, with a lopsided smile. "I was thinking aloud. Rewind. Erase erase erase."

"Is something bothering you? When I wake up at night lately, to get a glass of water, and find you in the living room doing one-arm pushups . . . I have to wonder if you've got something on your mind."

"You hardly ever sleep more than a few hours at a time," added Mindy. She stood a few feet away, worried and shaking, clutching at her thin wrap.

Part of Josh's mind grew alarmed, the part that the drug had pushed to the back. He leaned forward, gagging, and threw up the pizza. Drake put a hand on Josh's back, to steady him. Mindy stood still, frozen in place and not knowing what to do.

Drake began shepherding Josh and Mindy back to the car. "We should go home now."

"Home to the ocean?" Josh blinked, confused, turning to look once more at the sea, with a vague sense of longing.

"To the apartment," Drake replied, turning Josh back to the car and pushing him in that direction. He fished the key ring from Josh's pocket. "I better drive."

Josh acquiesced and flopped into the back seat, groaning, and then laughing.

"Mindy, I'm not completely sober, but I guess I'm in better shape than Josh. You're going to have to help me stay alert, if you can, and watch for cops. If Josh flakes or passes out, you'll have to help me with him, too."

Grim-faced, Mindy nodded, climbing into the passenger seat next to Drake.

Every song on the radio seemed to be about the joys and sorrows of relationships. Drake left the windows open, but turned the music off.

The silence in the car was broken only by Josh's rambling efforts to tell them a joke he'd heard at the wedding.

A muscle twitched in Drake's cheek as his thoughts swung back and forth between what Scottie said and Josh's bombshell on the beach.

Mindy startled awake from a fitful doze when the car stopped. She got out and helped Drake pull Josh to a standing position. He leaned on both of them as they walked down the sidewalk.

"We don't have our shoes on!" exclaimed Josh, in surprise and delight.

Once inside, Drake ushered Josh into the bathroom. Drake took off his tie and jacket and put them away. Mindy dropped onto the couch, her legs tucked under her. She was still too inebriated to think clearly, but she knew something wasn't right with Josh.

"I'm going to call Eric at the hotel," Drake told Mindy. "If he doesn't answer, since it's his wedding night, I'll try his mom."

Mindy replied, "Or try Craig's mom. The families are listed in either Lawndale or North Lawndale. Maybe they'll know if anybody else got sick from the food or anything strange."

Drake carried the phone into the kitchen, in search of the wedding invitation on top of the refrigerator, as he looked for numbers.

Josh emerged from the bathroom. His hair was wet. He sat close to Mindy and told her, "I washed my face and brushed my teeth, so I'm minty fresh."

Mindy hugged Josh but was unable to say a word, she was so filled with concern. Josh slipped his hand under her dress and rested it on her bare thigh. "Are you wearing that thong I gave you?"

Drake looked on from the doorway and put his hand over the mouthpiece, annoyed. "This is no time for your feminine wiles, Mindy!"

"Drake, get in here!" called Josh.

"I'm on the phone."

"Well, hang up! I've come to an important decision."

Josh started tonguing Mindy's neck and earlobe. She tried not to respond, but Josh was hard to resist. By the time Drake butted in, Josh was kissing Mindy wholeheartedly and attempting to figure out how to undo her strapless bra.

"Break it up, you two, this is important."

Drake sat down on the other side of Josh, whom Mindy reluctantly pushed away. Mindy wanted to know what Drake had learned.

"Your turn!" cried Josh, trying to drag Drake onto his lap. He hooked his thumbs under the lower edge of Drake's cummerbund, putting his hands on Drake's slender hips. As Josh's eager kiss covered Drake's mouth, Drake wished for a button he could push that would cause Mindy to vanish. He felt himself falling under Josh's spell, but, after a minute, he managed to break contact.

He took Josh's face in his hands, "You need to listen, Josh. You too, Mindy."

Josh pulled Drake's hands away, allowing Drake to sit unmolested, facing the two of them.

"You're not going to believe this. It turns out that Eric's nephew was spiking drinks. He was trying to seduce one of Craig's relatives. The girl flipped out, so the kid got scared and confessed."

"You mean Josh is drunk?"

"No. What's-his-name, Maureen's oldest boy, he put pills in some drinks. Ro-hyp-nol. And somehow Josh must have gotten hold of some of it."

"Roofies! Someone slipped me a Roofie? I've been waiting all my life for this!" said Josh in a high, agitated voice.

"You've heard of it before?" asked Drake.

Mindy commented, "I don't know much about it, except that it's called the 'date-rape drug.' The person loses their inhibitions, but it also causes amnesia, so there's no clear memory the next day."

"Eric looked it up on the internet. And his mother's a nurse. Eric said since it wasn't mixed with alcohol, it wouldn't hurt Josh and should run its course within 12 hours."

"Hello, I'm right here! Roofies are for insomniacs. That's me. And they're for men with amorous intentions. That's me, too." Josh emitted a rumbling chuckle. "With all that ginger ale I drank, I should be able to keep going all night long. I'm not letting the two of _you_ wear me down. So, bring it, Puddin' Cup. Bring it, Snackpants. I'll give you so much good lovin'!" Josh burst into a Blues Brothers riff, singing "I got a truckload."

Josh took Mindy's hand and put his other hand on Drake's shoulder. "Drake, I think you're right. This would be the perfect time for a three-way. Mindy, Drake wants to have a fuck-off. Wait. I mean a sex-off. Like a walk-off, but in bed. And Joshie wants to go for the gold medal!"

Mindy's jaw dropped open as her eyebrows locked.

"Much as I enjoy the Olympics, it wouldn't be fair for us to take advantage of you when you're not yourself," said Drake, kissing the tip of Josh's nose.

"Especially if you might not remember it, anyway," added Mindy, jealous, not wanting Drake to see how uptight the whole idea made her. This was surprising news indeed. She was beginning to question just how well she thought she knew Josh.

"Min's drunk. Why waste your A-game on her?" purred Drake.

Mindy's voice began to rise in volume, "I'd prefer not to get naked in front of Drake, drunk OR sober!"

"Joshie, Mindy can sleep right here on the couch. Why don't you come to bed with me now, where you belong? We need to talk about a few things," tempted Drake. He actually _did_ want to talk. He was desperate to find out what was eating away at Josh. But Mindy didn't need to know.

"As if talking was all you'd be doing! I don't trust you, Drake Parker, not for a second."

"Well," Drake said, folding his arms across his chest, "you just refused Josh's offer, so I didn't think you'd mind."

"Josh, are you choosing him over me?" Mindy pouted, on the verge of tears.

Josh pressed his hands to his forehead.

"Maybe it _would_ be best if I'm alone until this wears off."

Josh stood and started pacing before them.

"That's something I need to get used to. In the end, I'll be alone - like one of those shoes on the highway without a mate. Neither of you will stay with me forever. I've tried everything to make you love me. One hundred percent. I've told you I can't choose one over the other. I love you both too much. But one of you will give up and find someone else and then the game will no longer be interesting for the one who's left. I need you both. It's tearing me apart."

Josh entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him, realizing that the words he never wanted to say had somehow escaped from his lips. He had come undone. He slumped down in the dark with his back against the door, now aware of the drug coursing through his system, making him sleepy. His thoughts slowed, fatigue like gravity, his whole body heavy and sluggish. He was so very tired. He shut down.

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Not affiliated with Dan Schneider or Viacomm, the true owners of _Drake and Josh_. (sigh!)

**Rating:** T - for adult situations (het/slash/love triangle)

_**TRIANGLE**_

_**Chapter 5. - Revelations**_

Josh's speech had left Drake and Mindy stunned. Mindy was the first to hop up and run to the bedroom door.

"Josh, let me in! Please!" she cried, as she turned the doorknob and pushed, without result.

"He's blocking the door!"

Mindy slumped down, pressing her ear to the wood veneer.

Drake rushed over and tried the same thing. He knocked softly.

"Ssssh! Listen!" insisted Mindy.

Drake, standing, pressed his ear to the door.

"He must have gone to sleep," Mindy said. "I can hear him. It's that little sound he makes when he's breathing –

"—with his mouth open."

Mindy smoothed her wrinkled dress over knees. Drake sat down beside her.

"Eric said the best thing would be to let Josh sleep it off. That Ruhipna: it's sold as a sleep aid."

"How can we be sure he's alright?"

"If he stops breathing, I'll force my way in. You sit there and keep listening, while I go outside and take a look at the window. These doors and walls and everything are old and thin. I keep telling Josh to get a bigger, better place but -"

"- he likes to save his money for a rainy day!"

Drake nodded and left on his mission. When he returned ten minutes later through the patio doors, Mindy said, "I didn't know you smoked."

"Only in times of serious stress. Since I was out there, I figured I'd have a puff."

Drake sat down on the floor next to Mindy. "There's a lot we don't know about each other."

"We have our long history of mutual hatred!" Mindy shifted so she could face Drake and still keep her ear against the door. "I'm surprised Eric knew so much about the Roofies. And even more surprised he was so chatty."

"Craig was locked in the bathroom bawling his eyes out – because he dropped his wedding band down the sink! Eric was waiting for the hotel to send up a plumber when I called. He'd just gotten off the phone with both of their mothers, discussing the Maury incident. And Eric's mother is a nurse. She works at the same hospital as Trevor's mom." Drake was careful not to bring up Scottie, Trevor's brother.

"What was that boy Maury thinking?"

"What _I _want to know is what was JOSH thinking? I'm going to make an appointment for him with the family shrink. He won't want to go but we have to make him, Mindy. We have to get to the bottom of this."

"I agree. If Josh doesn't remember the things he said, do you think we should bring it up?"

"No! It would just set off another chain reaction in his mind, worrying that he let something like that slip out, then worrying some more about how we took it. Let it come out through the therapy."

"I think you're right about that. But if it doesn't seem to helping, then we've got to talk to him about it. I can no longer imagine my life without Josh in it."

"When did you first know that you were in love with Josh?"

"I started _noticing_ Josh when I kept beating him at the Science Fair. He was so happy with that big magnet. I wished I could be happy like that. Then, during my stay at the 'Wacky Hut,' the ladies and gentlemen in white coats helped me clarify a lot of things in my head. That's when I knew I wanted Josh for a boyfriend. While we were dating, I thought I was in love with him, but I had nothing to compare. So it wasn't until after college that I was absolutely sure. You?"

"It was gradual for me, too. I probably started falling for him the minute I saw him in that god-awful orange dress. I never met anyone who wanted to help others so much that they'd put themselves out there like that. Um, you _did _know about that Miss Nancy thing?"

"He mentioned that – the dress, I mean, and I thought he was kidding!"

"We used to call each other 'Nance' and 'Fance,' our secret nicknames. That's what's on my tattoo. I'd show it to you, but it's on my ass."

"TMI, TMI! I wish we knew why Josh thinks we're going to leave him."

"Because we're always telling him how fed up we are having to share him. Because we _have _left him in the past! I was with Belinda for close to two years. We almost got married. And I was awful to him when we were growing up in so many ways. I made out with girls right in front of him, deliberately, to make him jealous. I have regrets. But of course the single biggest one was forcing him to go over to your house that night and make up with you. If it wasn't for me, you two would never have gotten back together the first time."

"It stabs _me_ in the heart every time _you're_ back! Josh shifts his schedule, so all he and I have are long lunches, matinees and unexpected trysts."

Mindy observed Drake's blank look.

"Trysts – it's a polite way to say getting together for sex. Sometimes he comes over straight from the gym."

"Ugh! I hate that when he comes in from running and gets me in a headlock!"

"He, uh, never does that to me."

"Oh."

Drake busied himself rolling up his shirtsleeves to cover the awkward pause. He stood up, hugging himself, and walked up and down the hall.

"You hate it when I'm around? Well, know this: it's the same for me. When I'm away, he sends me an email every day. Some of them are sweet and goofy. Others are straight up LOLs. The greatest ones are so steamy they melt my eyes! Then all I crave is the sound of his voice and some hot phone sex." Drake was walking around the room, gesturing with his hands.

"I go crazy when I'm calling in from East Bumfuck and I end up with voicemail. I beg him to join me on the road and he says he can't because he's got 'writing deadlines.' He came on tour with me one time and hated it. I thought, since he's a writer, that he could write anywhere. He said he couldn't fit in and felt useless. So off I go, on my own, all the while knowing that he's with _you_!"

"Josh was my first."

"Mine, too. The first and _only_ guy. You can't say that."

"That's rich – coming from a man-whore!"

"I'm pickier than you think."

Mindy raised her hands and said, "Stop! We're making some progress here. Let's not get sidetracked into an argument."

"Okay." Drake cooled off and returned to his space on the floor next to Mindy "I'd like to know, er, to ask you, what do you _DO_ with Josh?

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh! I didn't mean _that! _I meant, _generally_, what do the two of you do?

"We go to museums, art galleries, wine and cheese tastings. That's the only time Josh allows himself to eat cheese any more, because of the fat content. We take walks and watch the sunset. We discuss books we've read."

"So he does all the serious stuff with you and all the fun stuff with me?"

"We _are_ having fun when we do those things, Drake."

"Then let's say he does what _you're_ interested in when you're together and he does what _I'm_ interested in when he's with me."

"He cooks for me. I'm terrible at it."

"Me, too. I'd probably starve if he didn't cook. I'd have to live on hot dogs and microwave stuff. Did he ever make chicken paillard for you?"

"A number of times."

"That's one of my favorites. And the brownies."

"There's this thing he does, and I love it and think it's absolutely adorable, when he's baking something or has to leave something on the stove to cook for a while." Mindy's nose crinkled and she smiled as she spoke. "If he doesn't need to stand over the dish, he comes out of the kitchen and takes his apron off and turns up the radio and starts dancing around the room!"

"I know! He lip-synchs the song and acts it out! What's your favorite?"

"It's an oldie by Tom Jones. I don't know the title but the chorus goes _'Am I tough enough?'_ He flails around and makes these incredible faces."

"My fave is one by Queen: '_**Somebody to Love**_.' He does all the parts and hams it way up. He grabs the big pepper mill to use for a mic. By the time he's finished we're both in hysterics. And sneezing our heads off!"

"I like it when he picks me up and twirls me around."

"Ah! Good times." Drake smiled and enjoyed a montage of memories.

"My turn to ask a question. What do YOU do with Josh?"

"We go out to hear live music a lot. We play video games. He's improved so much on Guitar Hero – but he'll never match _my_ score. Sometimes we go to the beach or hang by the pool. When we stay in, we watch movies, TV. We become one with the couch and I eat all the junk food I want while he eats those heinous rice cakes."

"I know! He puts jelly on them, but it's still like chewing Styrofoam!"

"Excuse me - those things will never get past _these _lips!"

Drake went into the kitchen and came back with a box of Cheez-Its. He poured some into Mindy's lap, sat down, and started to munch by the handful.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Drake crumpled up the empty box of Cheez-Its.

"I've always wondered, why did you try to frame me when you put Mrs. Hafer's car in the classroom?"

"She already hated you, so you'd be the first person she'd suspect."

"I see!"

"Actually, there's more to it than that." Mindy hesitated. "For a brief period of time, I kind of had a crush on you." Mindy ate a few crackers while she thought. "I knew I wasn't like the bevy of girls that surrounded you. I figured there could never be anything between us. Because I felt rejected, even though you never said or did anything wrong, I started to dislike you. It made me mad, seeing how you just coasted through, and got away with so much. Also, you and Josh were together all the time. With you suspended, I could make my move on _him_. I went to private schools and girls' boarding schools all my life until high school. I had built up this rosy picture of what public school would be like. When it wasn't, it sent me off the rails."

Drake knew that it took courage for Mindy to open up that way. "We aren't each other's types. I'd end up snoring at the opera during the first act. You would be bored silly if you had to sit and tell me how great my hair looks and watch me tune my guitar. You're an attractive woman. But, thanks to Megan, I have a lasting fear of any female who's smart and assertive."

Drake had long cherished the theory that Mindy had once been attracted to him and he felt vindicated. He decided to make his own admission.

"You know earlier when Josh was rambling on about a 3-way? That was the drug talking. Josh vetoed the idea flat out when I first brought it up. He said you'd never consider it and that it would make you feel vulnerable. He and I _both_ knew that wasn't your scene. I was just messing with him. Josh is very proud of you, and protective. The picture he carries in his wallet is the one of you wearing your hard hat, the first female structural engineer at your company."

"Josh keeps telling me how smart _you_ are. He's always humming and singing your songs to himself."

"Really?"

"He quotes the lyrics and uses your music to make his point. He thinks you have good business instincts."

Drake beamed.

"What did you think of Josh's book?" asked Mindy.

"I'm not exactly a reader. Especially when it comes to children's fantasy. I have my own autographed copy, though!" Drake retrieved the book from the shelf and handed it to Mindy.

"I didn't read it, either, and I don't know why. Josh is always supportive of the work we do, and this is _his_ work. Scottie was right about us."

"True that. No wonder poor Joshie's had a writer's block for four months."

Drake fetched two bottles of water from the refrigerator. "Wet your whistle and start reading that book to me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several hours later Mindy shut the book. Drake had a lump in his throat and suddenly felt a hot stinging in his eyes. He buried his face in the crook of his arm.

Mindy was equally touched. "I can't read any more or I'll start crying. That was beautiful, and frightening, and totally amazing. This is a good place to stop, at the entrance to the Cave of Secrets. At least we got past the Well of Sadness."

Drake sniffed and said, "How do you like that: Josh's book tells the story of two stepbrothers on an epic quest in order to save their kingdom. Then there's brave Princess Yndim. Those are the letters of _your name_. We both should have read this book when it was published."

"He used a lot of personal symbolism," croaked Mindy, unable to read more. She was stiff in every joint, disheveled and tired. The book and the night itself had been a long journey of discovery. It was dark yet, but the morning would be coming soon. Birds were starting to welcome the dawn with song.

Mindy set the book aside and said, "We've both been so busy being jealous about the times we aren't with Josh, we've forgotten to cherish and appreciate him during the times we _are _with him."

"Do you think that's why he tricked us into going to the wedding as a trio?"

Mindy was so tired, she leaned her face against the door to think about what Drake had asked her. Her eyes opened wide. "Drake - I don't hear Josh breathing now!"

Drake opened the bedroom door without resistance. He and Mindy peered into the soft darkness. While they had been engrossed in the book, Josh had gone to bed, semi-conscious, scattering his clothes at random.

"We've got a lot to think about. I don't think my brain can handle any more revelations for the time being. We're _both _exhausted. I could make up the couch for you. Or would you prefer to go home in a cab?"

"I'm not leaving, Drake. Not now. And I'm not sleeping on the couch."

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I am not the proud owner of _Drake and Josh_.

**Rating: **T – for adult situations (love triangle het/slash – not explicit)

_**Chapter 6. – Resolution**_

_Pins and needles! Pins and needles! Pins and needles!_ The Master Blaster in Josh's brain was sending a host of messages throughout his nervous system, trying to get Josh to wake up. The sun had long been up. Josh should have been awake hours ago. He ought to have been at the keyboard, working on that film treatment for his first book. And what about exercise? Josh told the Master Blaster politely but firmly to _shut up_.

Josh yawned and revelled in what a good night's sleep he'd gotten. As he grew aware of pressure and numbness he gradually opened his eyes to see that Mindy was using his upper arm for a pillow. There she was, hair falling across her face, legs drawn up, with her back pressed into his side. That was right where she liked to sleep. Then Josh came to realize that Drake was where _he _liked to sleep, with his ear pressed against Josh's heart, softly snoring into Josh's chest, and his foot hooked over Josh's ankle. They had him right where they wanted him, flat on his back. . . .

_What?_ Was he dreaming? Oh. My. God. He found he was missing many details from last night. He remembered dancing and then everything got fuzzy. Mindy had been drunk. Had he himself then gotten drunk? He didn't feel hung-over. A bolt of fear shot through Josh's nervous system with such intensity it caused his scalp to prickle. Had anything taken place before they were asleep? He knew something had been said about a 3-way. Had they – ?

Josh used his free hand to lift up the sheet. He wore his blue boxer briefs. Drake was shirtless, wearing a ratty old pair of Chargers' PJ pants. Mindy was enveloped in one of Josh's t-shirts. What had led up to this unprecedented event? Why couldn't he remember? It was insane! It was also kind of wonderful.

Not wanting to disturb his pretty sleepers, Josh lowered the sheet back into place. He carefully dislodged his arm from underneath Mindy's head and managed to put a pillow in its place as she unconsciously adjusted her position. He stretched his arm and shook his fingers, flexing out the tingles, and then rested his hand on his abdomen. Still feeling drowsy, he decided to stop thinking and enjoy the novel sensation of having _both_ his loved ones close by. Josh let go of his questions and concerns and drifted off again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lying on his stomach, clutching a pillow, Josh opened one eye to look at the clock. 12:37 p.m.! The day was nearly half gone! He must have forgotten to set the alarm. He tried to recall events from the night before and kept losing his train of thought. He must have gotten drunk. He did remember that Mindy had gotten tanked during dinner. Maybe he'd sent her home in a cab? He couldn't remember how he and Drake had gotten home. Drake was probably asleep on the couch, mad about attending the wedding with Mindy. Josh stepped into the shower. He was in no hurry to have a confrontation with Drake. Nothing spoiled a Sunday afternoon like an argument.

As he lathered and rinsed, Josh thought about his odd dream: Drake and Mindy were asleep on either side of him, everything all peaceful and nice. Josh hardly ever remembered his dreams, so he was glad to have had such a pleasant one. Still yawning when he finished his shower, Josh stumbled out of the bathroom, briskly rubbing his thick black hair with a towel. He pulled on some seamless bike shorts and a v-neck t-shirt, steeled himself for the worst, and opened the bedroom door. The smell of food cooking assailed his nostrils. He heard voices.

"So do you want coffee or some of that herbal hogwash Josh calls tea?"

"I had plenty of coffee yesterday. I'll take the tea. It's not bad with sugar."

Oh, no! Drake and Mindy were alone together in a room containing sharp knives? Josh approached cautiously. He was in the dining room when he stopped in his tracks. There was Mindy, in a short kimono-styled robe that some Japanese fans had given to Drake but he never wore. Drake had on a blue t-shirt and was wearing the Chargers pants from the dream. The two of them were busy in the kitchen – making things! Now Josh thought he _must_ be hallucinating. The table was set for three. There was a potted red geranium for a centerpiece. It looked like exactly like the one from his neighbor's terrace.

Mindy saw Josh from the kitchen and smiled. She beckoned him to sit down as she came forward and pulled out a chair for him. Like a sleepwalker he obeyed. Mindy put her arms around his neck, nuzzled his ear and said, "You smell like pears." She darted back into the kitchen. He heard her say, "Josh is up."

Drake entered the dining room with a glass and a mug, which he set on the table for Josh. "Hey! You look well-rested." Josh wrapped his arm around Drake's thigh and pulled him closer. He picked up the glass and sipped orange juice. It tasted so real!

Josh looked up into Drake's smiling face and asked, "Did I miss anything last night? I must have had a black-out."

"Relax, Doodle! All is well." Josh didn't let go and rested his head against Drake's torso.

Mindy brought plates full of something. She set one down before him and put one down for Drake. She went back and returned with a third plate.

Drake massaged the back of Josh's neck. "Okay. We're going to eat now." Josh let go of Drake, who sat down. Drake was to his right and Mindy sat to his left. Josh looked down at his plate at what appeared to be pancakes and scrambled eggs. Drake and Mindy were sitting there like it was the most normal thing in the world for them to have prepared a meal - together.

Josh picked up his fork and poked around his plate with it. Everything seemed edible.

Mindy informed him, "I used Egg-Beaters." Knowing Josh didn't normally use syrup, she asked, "Do you want jam or yogurt for your pancakes?" Josh shook his head.

Drake told Mindy, "Josh says he must have had a black-out last night and wants to know if he missed anything."

"You didn't drink anything but ginger ale last night," Mindy assured him.

"I don't remember leaving the reception. I don't even remember going to bed. Tell me what happened."

Drake put his hand over Josh's. "There's nothing to tell. We played Parcheesi. You got tired and crashed."

"Well, who won?"

"You did," Mindy assured him. "_You_ won this time."

"I had such strange dreams last night. First we were all at the beach. Then I was flying by the full moon in a giant shoe."

Drake chuckled. "You should save that one for your next book!"

"I even dreamed that you two were asleep in bed with me."

"That part was true. After you zonked, Mindy and I stayed up talking about the wedding and old times and such. I was too tired to drive her home, so we just crawled in with you."

"Mindy, I decided I'd like some apricot jam for the pancakes, please."

Mindy set down her napkin and rose to get the jam for Josh. As soon as she was out of earshot, Josh leaned towards Drake and inquired in a low voice, "Did anything _happen_? In bed?"

Drake again took Josh's hand. "Of course not. Everything's fine. Every_one_ is fine."

Mindy brought the jam and as she passed, she and Drake exchanged glances that Josh couldn't interpret. He tasted some of the eggs – a tad too wet for his taste. And the pancakes were overly brown. But the miracle of this meal was what smacked Josh in the face. Mindy and Drake had worked together to make it happen. Something like this had been a far distant hope when Josh had coerced them into being his dates for the wedding. He'd thought it was a safe environment for them to appear in. Josh wanted to show them off. He wanted them to behave when they were around each other. His lowest expectation had been merely to get through the event without tears or bloodshed.

"Josh! Josh!" Drake waved his hand in front of Josh's face. "Are you with us? Do you need more sleep?"

"Sorry, Drake. I was just thinking how surprised I am and how pleased that you've both gone to so much effort to create this lovely brunch for us."

"Josh Nichols!" Mindy pretended to scold, "After all the meals you've prepared for us, it's only fair. You push yourself so hard all the time, we thought you needed to sleep in for a change, and that you might like a break from the cooking."

Josh nibbled at the grapes and melon in a side dish.

"Oh, by the way," said Drake, as casually as he could, "I left a message with Dr. Stein's answering service to set up an appointment ASAP. Mindy and I decided maybe you needed some help with that writer's block thingy."

"You and Mindy decided?"

"Um hmm. And to make _sure_ you figure out what's bothering you, and to be _sure_ you get past this, we're going to set up some sessions that include the three of us."

Josh started choking on the grape that he had just inhaled. Drake flew out of his chair, ready to pound Josh on the back or administer the Heimlich maneuver. Mindy ran to get Josh a glass of water. Josh coughed and managed to swallow the grape and clear his airway.

Crisis averted, Drake and Mindy resumed their places. Josh drank some water, his thoughts racing.

"Now let me make sure I've got this: the two of _you_ want the three of _us_ to see Dr. Stein?"

"He's made a name for himself on San Diego talk radio for his couples counseling," Drake stated.

"We aren't exactly a couple," Josh said, as fear and resistance fought for dominance in the back of his mind.

"We could be considered intersecting or interlocking couples," mused Drake.

Mindy spoke up. "We're not trying to minimize the inherent difficulties. It's not going to be easy. We'd be breaking new ground here. It just seems like it would help us if we could work some things out, talk about them in a neutral setting. We can't be the only three people on Earth with this type of, um, arrangement."

"Yeah. Maybe we could set up our own support group or network or something," Drake added.

Josh did a spit-take with the water.

Drake handed Josh a napkin. "What would really be the coolest would be to have our own reality show."

Mindy laughed. Josh thought he'd somehow crossed over into a parallel universe.

Drake continued, "And I know just what we'd call it: 'T-R-Y-angle.' The guy with the extra wives has a show. Why NOT us?"

"_TRYangle_? Oh, noooooooo!" Josh groaned at the bad pun. He chewed on his fingers.

The kitchen radio had been on the whole time in the background. A bouncy reggae song started to play. Mindy stood and said excitedly, "Drake, THIS one!"

She hurried into the kitchen and turned up the radio, coming back with a wooden spoon in each hand, which she shook like maracas. A Jamaican man's deep voice sang the verses in counterpoint to a woman's chirpy chorus of "_ay ay ay, ay ay ay_!" backed by horns, guitars and a pumped-up keyboard.

Drake snatched up the pepper mill, as Mindy said "Take it, Drake!"

Drake jumped up, clowning around with Mindy, pretending to sing along, "_tell you baby, tell you baby, you huggin' up the big monkey man . . . I've seen no sign of you, I've only heard that you huggin' up the big monkey man . . . is not lie, is not lie . . . now I know that, now I understand . . . you huggin' up the big monkey man_."

Josh recognized their spirited imitation of his own antics. The song was happy-sounding and the beat infectious. He couldn't refuse them if they wanted to talk to Dr. Stein. In the long run, it could only help things. A sense of light and warmth and sweetness suffused him. He thought of one of his stories, when the hero emerged from the Chamber of Grace. Josh felt like that hero, who's been armed with all that he needs to face the challenges ahead. Josh stood and joined the demented hopping, pumping his arms up and down and using his hips to bump first Mindy, then Drake, knocking them off balance, until the three of them were helpless with laughter.

**The End** (or _is_ it?)


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author:**_ therubyone

_**Disclaimer:**_ Don't own 'em – wish I did! I'm only borrowing them for entertainment purposes with no profit motive. Please don't hurt me.

_**Warning: **_The theme of this story is a love triangle involving 2 men and 1 woman; adult situations are explored and discussed. Rated T for Teen to be safe.

**_Chapter 7._** – **_Alliances_**

Mindy unloaded the dishwasher and handed the clean dishes to Drake to put away.

"I think that went very well, don't you? Josh ate more than he usually does when it's something he hasn't prepared himself," commented Drake.

Mindy replied, "It went better than I thought it would. But when Josh gets back, I think we should tell him the truth about what happened."

"Well, I don't. What if he starts to flip? Although we were both _in_ therapy for a while during high school, neither of us has any training in this area."

"He's confused and rather suspicious about this sudden change in our behavior. That's why he went for a run. 'To clear his head.'"

"Oh, alright. I guess he deserves to know. But let's not tell him everything, the worst of it, that is. I don't want him getting all upset and we don't know what to do to help him."

Drake handed Mindy his cellphone. "Put your numbers in. I'll call you and leave mine. In case either of us has any insights, or if anything _unusual_ happens. I'll let Josh get in touch with you about the sessions with Dr. Stein."

Mindy did as Drake had asked and was handing off the phone to Drake when they heard the sliding glass doors from the patio, then the bathroom door shutting, followed by the sound of the shower. Drake put his phone back on the charger. They finished in the kitchen and sat down in the living room, waiting for Josh to emerge.

"Hey. What up?" asked Josh, toweling his hair, freshly dressed and groomed.

"We're trying to decide what to do with the rest of our day," answered Mindy.

"I'd like to go back and see if I can find my other shoe. That was one half of a $250 pair," Drake said, sadly.

Mindy gasped. Drake's shoes had cost more than hers did!

Drake noticed the puzzled expression on Josh's face. "You probably don't remember, but my shoe, uh, sort of, um, ended up going out the car window."

"Vaguely. But why –"

Mindy cut to the chase. "Josh, the reason you've got some blanks in your memory is because somehow you ended up drinking something at the reception. We think it was gingerale tainted with a drug called Ruhypnol."

"How?" Josh's eyes opened wide and he looked shocked, gazing in turn at each of them.

"Maury, you know, Eric's nephew," Drake said. "He doctored up some drinks, trying to make a move on a girl."

"Okaaaaay." Josh took in the information and tried to process it. "That explains a few things."

"Maybe _you_ can explain something, if you don't mind," said Mindy, gently but firmly, as though she was picking at a splinter. "What was your original intention when you got both of us to agree to be your dates at the wedding?"

"I thought it would be a safe place for all three of us to go out together, a happy occasion. I mean, most of the guests were old friends who've known us a long time, people who'd think nothing of seeing us arriving together, dancing together. Nobody who would question or judge. This was an important milestone for Craig and Eric that I thought none of us should miss, despite our . . . situation."

"What _outcome_ did you have in mind?" probed Mindy.

"I didn't think that far ahead, to be honest. I was too stuck on the image of the three of us, dressed in our finest, and doing it up, and hopefully none of us getting injured in the process—except maybe me," Josh admitted, laughing half-heartedly, "since it was my idea in the first place."

"Let me rephrase that," Mindy said, keeping her tone as neutral as possible, "whom did you think you'd go to bed with at the end of the night?"

"I fully expected I'd end up sleeping alone on a couch – but that it would be worth it. And when I woke up and I _wasn't_, it was like a dream come true, finding the both of you sleeping with me at the same time! I mean, I thought I WAS dreaming. Then later, I came out here and you were actually talking to each other, cooperating, not constantly nitpicking. It's a miracle! Way more than I'd ever hoped for. It's a shame I can't remember. I would have liked to have seen the process, sort of like watching the Berlin wall come down: historic."

"So you feel good today? Happy?" prompted Drake.

"Happy? I guess so. Mostly I feel very relaxed and surprised at how things are turning out. I feel kind of blank, too. I don't like the thought that maybe I was dancing on the tables without knowing, saying things I can't remember."

Mindy chuckled. "Do you remember dancing?"

"Yes, but it's kind of blurry. Did we do the hokey pokey?"

"I did the hokey pokey with you," Drake responded. "And Mindy was with you for the birdie dance."

"What about the hora?"

"We all did that one!" answered Drake, with a laugh.

Josh was sitting on one end of the couch, Mindy at the other, legs curled beneath her. Josh was like magnetic North on a compass and Drake unthinkingly always oriented himself, like that compass needle, to be near Josh, as he absent-mindedly gravitated to a standing position behind the sofa.

Drake continued telling Josh about the hora. "Practically everyone there was in on that. Eric said he'd be posting photos on his website soon, so you'll be able to see for yourself." Drake smiled and put a hand on Josh's shoulder, near the base of his neck. Josh had been right; neither he nor Mindy would have wanted to miss sharing Eric's and Craig's celebration, despite grousing about having to tolerate each other's company and share Josh for the event.

"I don't remember that. I don't remember leaving the reception. Or driving." Josh shook his head, as if that would cause everything to fall into place.

"After we left the hotel," Mindy went on, "we drove down to the beach and had some pizza—"

"Pizza? But I don't eat pizza. I stopped eating pizza a long time ago." Josh seemed to be getting agitated.

Drake picked up the narrative, spreading his fingers out, trying to soothe Josh with his touch. "It didn't agree with you. So you puked."

"Because you got sick, and we didn't know about the drug, we thought it best to get you home," added Mindy, carefully choosing her words.

"How did you find out about the roofies?"

"I called Eric," Drake told Josh. "To see if the shrimp was bad. That's how we knew." Drake started to massage the taut muscle under his hand, using his thumb and forefinger.

Sensing Josh's disturbed reaction about the pizza, and hence the beach, Mindy followed Drake's cue and turned the conversation. "Guys, I really think I should be getting home. It's after 5. I'm on a tight schedule at work tomorrow. I don't have any clothes over here. I have to say I'm feeling the worse for wear after our big weekend. I'm not accustomed to hangovers." Mindy did look tired and a little puffy.

"Right. We'll take you home. Drake, let's see if we can find your shoe on the way back."

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Drake sat in the driver's seat, his restless fingers drumming against the steering wheel, ready to move the car from the loading zone in case anyone else pulled up in front of Mindy's building. Josh was walking Mindy to the door. Barefoot and in her formal dress, now wrinkled, she looked tiny and bedraggled, clutching a bag containing her shoes and wrap. Normally it would have made Drake feel ten kinds of awful seeing Josh hugging and kissing Mindy. It had taken him a long time, when they were younger, to realize that the feeling was jealousy. Maybe he was just tired, but it didn't bother him _quite_ as much today. It was almost a good thing to have someone else to share this problem with. He couldn't fathom why Josh would be talking or thinking about suicide, if that's what his cryptic words had indicated. If Mindy was part of the problem, all the better, because then it wouldn't be something that he - The Drake - was the cause of, at least not all of it. Upon reflection, Drake concluded that _sharing_ Josh couldn't be anywhere near as bad as _losing_ Josh.

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Drake paid the delivery man and took the paper bag into the kitchen. Josh was in the living room with the TV on. Drake carried a tray with open cartons of steaming Chinese food and set it on the coffee table. Josh seemed to be dozing. Drake ran his hand down Josh's arm, saying "The food's here."

Josh roused himself to consciousness, and rubbed his eyes. "I didn't even hear anyone at the door." He took a container of wonton soup from the tray. "Everything smells good!"

Drake was pleased that Josh seemed to have an appetite. He sat down and slathered some spring rolls with Chinese mustard and duck sauce. "I'm amazed we found my shoe."

"You've always been the one with the lucky star! It was still there on the center line."

"I know! It didn't get run over and ruined!"

"That's one less shoe on the road to wonder about."

"You mentioned that last night. That seeing those lone shoes made you feel bad."

"I wouldn't say they make me feel _bad_, but I do wonder how they got there and where their mates have gone."

"That's the storyteller in you."

"I'll have to add that to my list of writing topics," Josh said wistfully, as he set down the empty plastic soup container, "for sometime in the indefinite future."

"I know Mindy and I kind of blindsided you about meeting with Dr. Stein. But if it helps you get over your writer's block and makes life easier for all of us, that _has_ to be a good thing, right?"

"Yes. I'm hesitant, though. I don't like opening up to strangers. We aren't what's considered 'normal' and that makes me want to keep it private. Plus, you know he's going to have to ask us a lot of very personal questions. And we'll need to answer honestly, or there's no point in going."

Drake remembered how he used to make up things sometimes – most of the time, actually - during his sessions with Dr. Stein. That was different. His mother had forced him to go. She thought he had some deep-seated reason for not doing well in school. She couldn't accept the fact that it bored him and he just wasn't as academically-inclined as his sister Megan. Or Josh. But because of Josh, he'd try to cooperate this time.

By way of an unspoken promise, Drake used his chopsticks to feed Josh a sweet and sour shrimp. They turned their attention to the movie, a sci fi action feature, and continued eating, laughing and commenting on the flickering images on the screen. By the time the credits began to roll, Josh was yawning nonstop. Prodding him, Drake said, "Go on. Go to bed. You can't keep your eyes open. I'll put everything away."

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Mindy didn't indulge in bubble baths very often. That was Josh's thing. She looked under the sink for some bubble bath or bath salts he'd given her. There it was, in the back: Tropical Nights. She shook the box and poured. Perfumed, purple powder began to suds up as soon as it hit the hot water coming from the flowing faucet. She hoped she could soak the toxins out of her system. She took some pain reliever, maximum strength, and tried to relax in the tub, as she sipped cranberry juice. Her sluggish mind wouldn't be still, though. The weekend had sapped her energy. First there was the forced proximity with her long-time nemesis: Drake Parker. Nearly everything about him annoyed her. But mostly it was the fact that he held a large part of Josh's heart. She was sorry she'd gotten wasted, but the situation had made her _so tense_. And all of that was nothing compared to - _after_ the wedding.

Mindy recalled how Drake responded to Josh in need. He'd been thoughtful, supportive, and protective. Mindy knew that Drake had frequently been callous and cruel to Josh in their youth so it was a real eye-opener juxtaposing that memory with _this_ side of Drake, the caring partner. Frankly, it was even scarier, now that she could see the strength and the depth of the bond between the two of them. Her stomach felt like it was full of hot bricks. Of course, she'd been at an awful disadvantage the whole time, being on Drake's watch, on Drake's turf, and tipsy to boot.

Was she crazy to even think she had a future with Josh? Maybe this therapy would help Josh sort things out. She had to think that being torn between two people was the source of his misery. If someone could help him clarify his feelings—Mindy wished with all her might that Josh could be hers alone, but she also desperately cared about his well-being, and _that _had to take precedence right now. That was the only thing that both she AND Drake wanted. They could make themselves work together to help Josh.

Starting to read the book Josh penned had been a revelation for Mindy. She was ecstatic that he'd portrayed the character he'd based upon her so favorably. Why hadn't she read it before? She'd been afraid to see how she stacked up against the _Drake _influences on the story. Well, if she had to swallow her pride now and continue to be a part of a love triangle, it had to better than the alternative: NO Josh.

The violet-tinted water in the bath had gone cold, all the bubbles flat, and Mindy was turning into a prune. She got out and slipped into her most comfortable pajamas and robe. She wondered how Josh was doing. She was tempted to call him but knew that would be an infringement on Drake's time. She jumped when she heard the phone ring.

"Josh?"

"It's me, babe. I can't keep my eyes open, so I'm turning in. I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm still a little fuzzy. But I'll live. I'm glad you called. I was thinking about you. And missing you."

"Thanks for going to the wedding with me. And everything else. It means a lot."

"I'm sorry if the fighting spoiled your fun."

Josh laughed. "Drake's sorry, too. He told me when we found his shoe." Josh yawned. "But the 360-turnaround between you two? That makes up for it all, so much. I love you, princess. Good night. Talk to you soon."

"I love you, too, Josh." Mindy felt her eyes filling with tears. She wasn't even sure why. "'Night." As an afterthought, a tiny part of her was miffed that Drake had managed to retrieve his shoe. If Drake Parker dropped toast on the floor, it would land butter-side up!

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When Drake made his way into the dimly lit bedroom, Josh was completely zonked. Josh was facing the window, on the alarm clock side of the bed. Drake turned off the bedside light that Josh had left on for him. As Drake lifted the sheets to get into bed, the lingering smell of Mindy's exotic perfume assailed his nostrils. It was a good thing Josh had a king size bed, or all three of them would never have fit at the same time. Drake had been too tired and too upset to object to Mindy's presence. After all they had gone through that long, strange night, it was as though the two of them had been guarding Josh in their sleep. But from who or what?

Drake quickly slid himself across the distance from the empty edge of the bed over to Josh and pressed himself against the length of the warm, solid form. Drake planted multiple kisses across Josh's broad back and slid his arm tightly around Josh's waist. Drake had wanted to be alone with Josh since the moment he'd seen the man all dressed up in a tuxedo for the wedding. Drake then banished all worrisome thoughts from his mind as he listened to Josh's slow, steady breathing and heartbeat. He sighed and gave himself up to sleep, glad _he_ was in this place - instead of Mindy.

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author:**_ therubyone

_**Disclaimer:**_ Don't own 'em – although wish I did, even if only for one day! I'm only playing in the neighborhood for entertainment purposes, with no profit motive. Please don't kill me.

_**Rating:**_ T for Teen, to be safe

_**Warning:**_ Frank and open discussions here-in of adult relationships, both het and slash (m/m).

**Triangle** – _Chapter 8. – In it to win it_

Josh woke up mid-morning. He was sleeping so much! Was it an after-effect, or could he be coming down with something? He picked up and opened the folded note which had been propped against the alarm clock. In Drake's careful, looping penmanship, Josh read, "_Tried to wake you. We'll be meeting with someone from Dr. Stein's practice group. I'm there now. She wants to meet with us __seperatly __to start. You're up tomorrow a.m. Check with Mindy about her schedule – 2 openings later in the week. Have her call. See u when I get back?_"

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Drake was dressed to impress. He was wearing a form-fitting dark gray business suit that made him feel serious and substantial. The woman who greeted him was older, but he wasn't good at guessing ages. He just hoped this would work in his favor. Women seemed to either love him or hate him, with no in-between.

The woman smiled and rose to greet him, extending her hand. "Hello, Mr. Parker, I'm Jean Horvalu. Dr. Stein felt it would be better if someone who didn't have any experience with any of you took this case. As you know, he's busy now with those daily call-in shows on the radio. I hope you aren't too disappointed."

Drake shook hands, and then sat down opposite the woman. He noted she wasn't sitting behind the desk, the way the detested Dr. Stein always did. Also, there was no place to lie down in this office. Another plus in the not-like-Dr.-Stein category.

Drake responded, "That's okay. All that stuff from before, with Dr. Stein, is ancient history. I just didn't know who else to call. I scheduled myself first because I wanted to get in here and let you know how things are."

"Oh?"

"In the first place, I'm not a great believer in therapy. But I think it can be useful for some people. We have a situation here. I need you to fix Josh or help him fix himself or however it's done."

Dr. Horvalu quickly scanned a green intake sheet that was stapled to the front of a manila folder.

"Well, what do _you_ think Josh's problem is?"

"I don't know! That's where you come in! He's had a writer's block for over four months. And then Saturday night at this wedding, he swallowed a roofie drink that was intended for someone else and he acted . . . strange, different. He expressed thoughts of despair and about ending his life and talked about being discontented with our, um, triangle – that is, with me and with Mindy. I couldn't make head nor tails of it. His distress, however, was real. And he _has _been tense, for a long time. He exercises excessively and is overly strict about what he eats. He doesn't sleep well. It's all adding up to something big and I don't like it."

"Does he know what's happened?"

"He knows about the drug." Drake twisted his fingers in his lap. "But he doesn't know about what he told us on the beach."

"Has he expressed any desire to harm himself since then, or has he seemed extremely depressed?"

"No. Actually, he's been relaxed and happy. He's eating and sleeping better. He doesn't even know he scared the crap out of me and Mindy and that we sat up talking all night because of it, while he caught some much-needed zzzzzz's. Mindy and I discovered we had a few things in common, centering around Josh, that is. It's the first time we've really EVER talked without fighting. Bottom line: I came up with this scheme about relationship counseling and we both agreed to cooperate in order to get help for Josh. Now all Josh knows is that he wakes up and sees the two of us getting along, instead of getting on each other's nerves, and he's all happy dancey. However, let me make this clear, I'm in it to win it."

"Explain?"

"Whatever's keeping Josh from staying with ME, and not Mindy, I want that all sorted out. I love Josh and I know he loves me and we need to be together. Mindy's still young enough not to be worrying about her biological clock, but if she does want children in her future, she needs to get on with her life. That's only fair."

Drake reached over to a voice recorder on the desk. He switched it off. He opened it and took out the mini-cassette and slid it into the pocket inside his jacket. No way was some transcriber going to get hold of this! He added, crisply, "I don't expect to read about any of this in the tabloids, either."

Dr. Horvalu replied blandly, "Taping is standard procedure, Mr. Parker. But if you are uncomfortable with it, then you must allow me to take some notes. Please know that your complete confidentiality is assured. You can rest easy on that. Let me get in a word here. I appreciate that you're being up front with me. You're telling me that your primary concern is with Josh's mental and emotional state because you care about him. If arriving at a stabilized place for Josh would include working out some kind of arrangement, the way you outlined in your initial phone call, are you open-minded to that _at all_? I don't want to begin treatment on a false or deceptive basis with any of you."

Drake swallowed. He remembered his promise to Josh. "Let me state for the record that I would prefer to have an exclusive arrangement with Josh. I think Mindy feels the same way. But. I am willing to keep an open mind here. I'll cooperate." He tried to read Dr. Horvalu's eyes for any kind of response, but her eyes were dark, like his own, and gave nothing away.

Dr. Horvalu was wearing a gray business suit, too. Her brown hair was pinned up in a French twist behind her head. She smoothed her skirt with one hand. She continued, "Good. I need you to know that I'm not taking sides here. I'm only here to try and help you look at the situation, to see yourselves in new ways. I will respect each of you and hold up achieving your highest good as my goal. You can tell me anything you want to. I'm not here to judge you. I'm only here to help. Now, the way I intend to approach this…I need to learn some things about you individually before I can see how you fit together. I'm not putting a time limit on that. So we'll keep meeting separately for a while."

The doctor got up and went to a file cabinet. She pulled a tablet of lined paper out of the top drawer and returned to her seat with it, ready to take notes. Looking back up at Drake, with a smile, she said, "To start with, you could tell me about your own past and about the history of your relationship with Josh. If you'll think about that for a minute, it will give me a chance to jot down what we've talked about up until now."

She scribbled quickly, using her own version of shorthand, while Drake waited for her to catch up, tapping his feet, drumming on the arms of the chair with his fingers.

The doctor looked up again and said, "Alright. First, let me ask, how long have the two of you been OUT?"

"We're not 'out.'" Drake made the air quotes with his fingers. "I've got my professional reputation to think about. We don't want to upset the family. Mostly, though, we don't even think of ourselves in gay terms. We're _**bisexual**_, since you didn't get the memo. Oh, we went to a gay bar one time, as a couple, to see what it was like, and it weirded us out - bigtime. We don't relate much to the prevailing gay subculture. Not that there's anything wrong with it. I mean, we have relatives and friends who are openly gay and we're okay with that." He chewed on what was left of the fingernails of his right hand. "It's hard to explain, about us."

Again looking at the green sheet of paper, Horvalu prompted, "In your initial call, on the day of the crisis, you said you all three went to a gay wedding, a wedding between two men."

"That's right. Friends of ours from high school. Although it was a public event, it was one where we could let down our hair, so to speak. People were there who've known us for years, who've seen how physically affectionate we are, that is, Josh and me. They've seen us dance together and know that we were once practically joined at the hip, because we're stepbrothers. I might not have mentioned that, because I knew Dr. Stein was already aware of it. But the crowd at the wedding, they also knew that Josh dated Mindy way back when, so that wouldn't raise any eyebrows either. No reason the three of us shouldn't be there as a . . . unit. Just old home week and good times."

"But that's not how it played out?"

"Mindy and I quarreled – practically nonstop. She ended up getting plastered. Maybe things got a tad out of hand, loud voices and gestures. One of the musicians who was in my first band was at our table and he called us on it. I think he _may_ have guessed the real score." Drake looked out the window, his eyes not seeing the clouds in the sky, but reviewing the events from Saturday in his mind.

"Then during the night you and Mindy started communicating, instead of arguing?"

"That's right. While Josh was passed out." Drake twisted in the chair. "That Ruhippus is a sleep aid, yes? Won't harm him?"

"Correct. Let's come back to you for now. You say you're bisexual. Were you active sexually with Mindy, too, before the two of you started competing for Josh?"

"Oh, God, no! Plenty of other females. Anyone but her. She's got a nice little figure, and pretty hair, but our personalities do NOT mix. I think she's got a sneaky look about her eyes and her _voice_ is like fingernails on a blackboard to me. I'm a musician. When I'm on tour, that's where I get my share from the ladies. Girls, to be more accurate."

"Don't you worry about STD's?"

"I've never had an STD. I use condoms when penetration's involved. I don't want the scandal of a pregnancy. Most of the girls I'm with are young virgins, so no disease there. The ones who aren't as fresh, a little older, then I let them give me oral." Drake smirked as the therapist continued to write. "Is that enough information for you, doc?"

"Why don't you just call me Jean?" She jotted a few more notes. "So you're getting all this action. How does Josh feel about that? And why does it bother you so much that Josh has a woman, presumably only one woman, when you, as you say, get your fill?"

"Because I'm only having fun out on the road. Josh is fully aware of that. He knows I'm not going to stop, so he keeps his opinion to himself. I'm not going around falling in love with any of those one-night stands. They're using me and I'm using them right back. Josh thinks - _says_ - he's in love with Mindy. That's what's different. She's all wrong for him. You'll see for yourself once you get her in here."

"Let's talk about you and Josh some more."

"Back to the beginning." Drake rubbed his hands together, briskly, relieved that the conversation was getting away from the difficult areas. "Our lives collided when our parents – his dad and my mom - got married. We were from opposite ends of the social spectrum. I didn't like him when I didn't know him and I was less than thrilled about him moving into my bedroom. I don't mind telling you, I had my work cut out for me in those days. Josh was a total goob. He'd been raised mostly by his grandmother and he was fat, sorta goofy, and practically on the lowest rungs of the social ladder. You might even have thought he was a loser. I know _**I**_ thought it at the time, before I knew him as a person. But he was nice, from day one. Easy to talk to, friendly, helpful, always smiling, making me laugh, in spite of myself. I had to coach him on _everything_: how to dress, how to talk with girls, and all the time telling him what _**not**_ to do – like magic tricks at school, you know, all the stuff that's uncool. Jesus, I even had to teach the guy how to lie! He didn't have any survival skills."

"What did you get out of it, out of taking him under your wing?"

"I used to trick him into doing my homework and most of the chores. I must admit I wasn't the greatest brother around. He was always respectful, but I wasn't. I took his money. I sold his things on eBay. I conned him into playing pool with me and he didn't know I was hustling folks for money. I mocked his interests. I joined in with my little sister to pull some awful pranks on him. I ditched him for girls all the time. If I thought he was going to ruin something for me socially, or embarrass me, I usually ditched him, nearly every time. Self-preservation. I'm not proud of it, but there it is."

"It's hard to tell about something we've done that makes us ashamed. But you got it out into the open. Let's move along past that. Tell me, what changed? How and why did it change?"

"_**I**_ changed. Because being around _him_ changed me. He wore me down like water wears away a stone. He taught me so much, and not just about school subjects, like the five noble gases. He was patient. He believed in me. He loved me for myself, who I am inside, not the way I look. And I _**never**_ got that from anybody else. That's what I got from him - more than I ever bargained for. I got a brother and a best friend." It was as though Drake was sitting there next to Barbara Walters, with tell-tale moisture filling up his eyes, and him feeling the fool for falling into the trap.

Seeing Drake fumbling for the box of tissues on the desk, the doctor stood up. "Forgive my manners, Mr. Parker. You arrived a bit early and I usually have drinks waiting in here. People get parched when they have to talk at length. Let me get you something." The doctor left the room, giving Drake the necessary time to collect himself, and returned with a tray that had a selection of drinks, snacks and what smelled like a carafe of coffee.

"I am kinda dry." Drake selected a chilled can of Mocha Cola, after pocketing the crumpled tissue that he had dabbed at his eyes with. "Where were we?"

"You were telling me about high school, about being roommates, and how you and Josh came to know each other."

"Yes. Josh told me that _he _changed from being around _me_. He told me that I helped to give him the courage and confidence to do and try different things. He changed his lifestyle and got all healthy and slender. In just 4 years, we grew very close. He got me my big break at the beginning of my musical career, by arranging an appearance on this national TV show called TRL. He was my manager for a while."

Jean made a note in the margin; she had never before heard of Drake Parker. She had read Josh's book, however. So that explained the remark about the tabloids . . . Most tabloids wouldn't be interested in an author that much.

"When did Mindy come into it?"

"I wish you could know how much it irritates me to tell you that Mindy got to him - in bed - first. Although Josh and I were definitely heading that way by then. I was falling for him, practically from the start, without being able to admit it to myself. In fact, it was shortly after Mindy broke up with Josh that we began a more, um, physical relationship."

Drake sipped at his soda, lost in a memory. "But the parade of girls never stopped. Josh never expected, never _asked _me to give them up. And I certainly didn't want him to stop seeing girls, either. I knew how much that meant to him. We kept the physical intimacy between us a secret. It was us, just EXTRA. 'Bros before 'ho's' - right?"

The doctor could write surprisingly fast. Drake wished he could read backwards and upside down, so he could see what was in her notes. Her expression never changed. She was open and impartial, friendly but not overly sympathetic.

"Did you have strong feelings against Mindy in those days?"

"Damn straight! She tried to get me expelled from school for a prank that she pulled. She framed me. She could've picked anyone, but I was the target. When her terrible plot was revealed, thanks to Josh and my little sister Megan, Mindy got suspended and spent the rest of that school year in the booby hatch. She and Josh didn't get together until the following year. She just kind of swooped in and MADE him be her boyfriend."

Drake saw that an assortment of cookies had appeared on the tray while he was talking and looking out the window. He helped himself and spoke between nibbles. "I thought I could handle it at the time, because I knew how much Josh wanted a girlfriend. But I was wrong. I disliked Mindy, because of the incident with Mrs. Hayfer's car, but as time went on, I realized I was jealous of her. So Josh got an early start on being in the middle. Mindy dumped Josh when they started to get too serious, too soon. I was ready to sing the Hallelujah Chorus!"

Drake decided to eat the rest of the cookies. It wouldn't be polite to leave them there, getting stale. "Then Josh and I had nearly a year of just the two of us, and our different girls, of course. That was an exciting time for Josh, not being tied down to Mindy. Even though she and Josh still socialized sometimes while they were apart, I didn't want her hurting him, like him seeing her dating other guys."

"Since you and Josh were, well, lovers, on a regular basis by this time, why didn't you say something about how you felt about him and Mindy?"

"High school was nearly over. We were getting ready to go our separate ways. I was wrapped up in my music. Mindy managed to get herself a job where Josh worked, so she could be near him again. It's ironic that we were at a wedding then, when they got back together. Now you can see that the three of us and weddings DO NOT MIX!"

Drake poured himself a cup of coffee. All this yapping, it made him feel lethargic, like he was watching a movie instead of talking about his own past. It was almost like a hole was opening up inside him, somehow. The caffeine was a welcome antidote.

"The two of them reuniting didn't stop Josh and me from carrying on, when we could. We were in too deep. It made me happy that I got to spend more time with him than she did. We were all so busy senior year. It was tough working her back into the schedule. Ha. I never thought it would last, but since I was looking ahead to my first tour, I thought if I let him have her, it would keep Josh from missing me."

Drake paused as he rummaged through his memories. He rubbed his chin and said, "Let's see, they got back together that January but then she dumped him – AGAIN - during Senior Week. Some BS about needing to focus exclusively on college or getting ready for college. Blah blah blah. At that point, I thought she was out of his life forever and good riddance. The funny thing was that I hadn't even gone on tour yet."

Drake had finished the assorted cookies. He contemplated taking the banana, too, but it was too green, and set it down again. "So Josh and I still had a couple months to ourselves. He had a few regular girls that he went with. We double-dated – girls! I hope you're getting this down. It was during the summer after graduation when our own sexy-times ended, by our mutual agreement."

Jean glanced at her watch. "Mr. Parker, our session has come to an end for today. I have a lot more questions for you, so I'll need you to set up another appointment on your way out. I'm glad you were candid with me. The clearer the picture I can get of how things are with each one of you, then the better I'll be able to formulate a strategy to assist you. I have a questionnaire for you to complete, just bring it back with you next time."

"There's _homework_?!" sputtered Drake.

"It won't be hard and there's no grade," Jean answered, trying to be encouraging, as she handed him a couple of blue sheets that contained typed questions, escorting him to the door.

After Drake's departure, Jean swiftly ordered her notes and fastened them into the folder. Pressing a button on her phone, she said, "Sandy, please have Drake Parker's old files pulled from the off-site archival storage. . . . Yes, he used to meet with Dr. Stein. . . . I've already looked here and haven't found them. . . . Thanks."

Continued in Chapter 9


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author:**_ therubyone

_**Disclaimer:**_ I am not the owner or originator of these characters – merely borrowing them for fanficcage purposes, with no disrespect or copyright violation intended. I do not make nor seek a profit. Please forgive me?

_**Rating:**_ T for Teen, to be safe

_**Warning:**_ Frank and open discussions here-in of adult relationships, both het and slash (m/m).

**Triangle** – _Chapter 9. – No Gettin' Off This Bus_

Dr. Horvalu met Josh in the reception area. "Hello, Mr. Nichols! Please come with me and have a seat."

Josh acknowledged the doctor's greeting with a wan smile and followed her into a pleasant, but nondescript office. He noted the live plants and the serene New Age music playing quietly in the background.

Once Josh sat down, the doctor picked up her tablet and pen, saying, "Mr. Parker expressed concern about having an audio record of our meetings, so I hope you won't mind me making some notes as we speak."

"That's fine. You can call me Josh."

"Then I hope you will call me Jean."

Josh leaned forward and asked, "Jean, Drake didn't try to bribe you with cash, did he?"

"What?"

"Oh, I saw him when he came back yesterday, all dressed up with nowhere to go. It made me chuckle. That's his way. You know, the best defense being a strong offense? I'll bet he either tried to charm the pants off you, or acted like little Mr. 'Oceans Eleven,' coming in here tossing twenties around and wanting to set everything up his way. I tell you, he watched way too many of those movies at an impressionable age. Don't you worry, though; he promised me he'd be honest if we went through with this. He knows I can tell when he's fibbing."

The doctor allowed herself to laugh. "Well, he seemed to be expressing himself in a frank and open manner! However I'm not at liberty at this time to say _what_ we talked about."

"That's understood. Anyway, I'm glad he behaved. He knows I'm not very much in favor of this, so he's got to bring it if he wants me to continue."

"So _you_ have reservations?"

Josh folded his hands in his lap. "I have to wonder if there's something behind all this. I can't even recall going to sleep, but off I went to dreamland, and when I woke up everything had changed. Suddenly the two people closest to me went from being at each other's throats to dancing around the dining room. People _do_ get the warm fuzzies at weddings! But then, I find out I'd been given a drug, by accident, one that is notorious for lowering inhibitions, and I have no memory of it. You'd be suspicious, too, wouldn't you?"

Jean didn't answer. Josh held the doctor's gaze. With a lopsided smile he explained, "Basically I'm a loner, a hermit. Despite my sunny exterior, I'm slow to open up to people. Particularly about private matters. "

"You seem to like talking about Drake. Do you want to start there, tell me about your relationship? That might make it easier. Tell me how you met, what brought you together."

"Sure. Drake and I became instant roommates when our parents got married. My father married his mother. Drake and I were both 14, and in the first quarter of our freshman year of high school. We'd seen each other around school in earlier grades but were never enemies but not quite friends, either."

Josh tapped the heels of his feet up and down nervously. "I'll have you know it was extremely difficult for me, going into new territory, knowing that I was invading someone's room, someone who'd be hostile to me because of it, right from the start. All I had was my suitcase, my backpack and some licorice. Then, too, Drake and Megan had each other, had grown up together. I suffered the additional burden of being an only child. I knew I had to grit my teeth and get on with it, though, for my father's sake. My Grammy told me to be myself, stay optimistic, and that's the face I showed the world. I just tried to keep my eyes on the goal: that we were becoming a blended family. It was a hard road to walk. I didn't even have a _bed_ to call my own for the longest time! I had to sleep on a futon. It wasn't good for my back."

"So Drake didn't welcome you with open arms?"

"Hell, no! That first year was the worst. Every day brought a fresh set of challenges and new humiliations. I doubt that it was very easy for him or on him, either. I mean, that adolescent period is awkward enough, without the adjustment of new family arrangements. Drake and I were never any good about setting up and keeping boundaries. The bright spot was that I bonded right away with my stepmother."

The doctor was writing, so Josh spoke more, warming up to the topic. "But I had to go slowly with my new little sister. She wanted to show how clever she was, by pranking me – and Drake - all the time. That was her way of making me into her brother, I think. A lot of times I got so angry I wanted to commit bodily harm, but the end result, the gift from all her joking, _that _was what made Drake start letting his guard down with me. He told me that Megan had been doing things to him for years and the fact that he could never prove it was extremely upsetting. I guess he was glad to have someone else be the target for a change. You can look that up in his files here, if you want corroboration. He told me that because Dr. Stein didn't believe him, either, about Megan's shenanigans, that he just started making up stuff, to amuse himself and pass the time." Josh was running his hands up and down his bare arms. He was wearing black denim and a black polo shirt, the band of the lower edges of the sleeves tight around his biceps.

The doctor nodded in a way that indicated she was keeping up with him, so Josh continued. "We started sharing other secrets and built on things from there. We fought sometimes, like any brothers would. We were competitive in some areas. We got on each other's nerves, since we were forced to be together so much. But I had a lot of my own issues to work on. I was so naïve, I didn't even realize at first that he was ashamed to be seen with me. Let's just say I was not very _astute_ socially. Maybe that's good. I'm sure it would have been devastating to realize just what a dork I was, looking at myself through someone else's eyes." A shadow passed over Josh's features as he recalled past hurts.

Looking up, grasping the arms of the chair, Josh continued. "Drake didn't really go through puberty. He lost his virginity at age 13. I think the fact that he was having regular sex allowed him to skip a lot of the usual growing pains. I mean, his hormones weren't backed up, like most boys at that age. No acne to speak of. He just _emerged_, as this perfectly-formed _man_, the way a butterfly comes out of a cocoon. And it drove the girls crazy. They were always around him, throwing themselves at him. To tell the truth, it made me sick, it was all just so damned effortless for him. And I could look, look, look all I wanted, I just couldn't _touch_ those fluffy bunnies!"

Josh got up and started to pace casually around the office, examining the artwork and the diplomas on the wall. "Drake had a steady stream of girlfriends, but his relationships never lasted very long. His natural gift with the female population just made me all the more aware of my own deficiencies and insecurities. He did try to help me. He'd set me up with girls, coach me on what to say and do, how to dress, all that. But mostly they didn't even see _me_ - in their stampede to get to him. I think it skewed his view of women permanently. I mean, it made it harder for him to bond with any one of them. I don't want you to think that I share his opinions on women. I'm just saying I understand where he's coming from, not that I approve or anything."

"That sounds like it was quite difficult for you, those growing years. Do you think maybe it influenced the way _you_ see yourself?"

Josh took a bottle of water from a side table. He uncapped it and drank as he looked out the window. "I'm starting to feel uncomfortable."

"We've been talking about you and Drake. Is there anything else you'd like to add, that wouldn't make you uncomfortable?"

Josh stayed at the window, sipping the water, his back to Jean. "As the two of us grew closer, and even before that, Drake was always touching me. I've concluded that he's just one of those touchy-feely people, in general. Regarding sex, my opinion is that he's pan-sexual. Sex is like breathing for him. It's like his music, he can't live without it. Anyway, for whatever reason, he developed an attraction towards me. Probably from the affection between us, as we improved our relationship, both as brothers and friends. I didn't know what to do with it, wasn't sure if it was only my own heated imagination, you know?"

Still standing, Josh turned and talked directly to Jean. "Unlike Drake, I had a LOT of backed-up hormones! Everything got all tangled up. He'd hug me and kiss me and was always pressing up against me, patting me, running his hand down my arm, breathing in my ear, putting an arm around my shoulders, sitting next to me with his leg touching mine. But then if I did anything back, sometimes he was down with it, but other times, definitely not. Mixed signals. Confusing."

"Are you able to go on?"

Josh, breathing fast, returned to his chair, opposite Jean. "When Mindy told me we should be boyfriend and girlfriend, I was ripe for that. I was inexperienced, had gone on a few dates, stolen a few kisses. Drake was always kind of around for it, involved in it. Did Drake tell you about how Mindy tried to get him in trouble at school?"

"Why, yes, he did," Dr. Horvalu replied.

"As you can imagine, Drake had an antipathy towards Mindy, a natural fear and dislike, because of what happened. He couldn't help it that Mindy had come unhinged. He was an innocent bystander. She was suspended from school. She went away and . . . got the guidance she needed, then came back the next year. She trounced me at the Science Fair, per usual, so I tried hard to avoid her. We were assigned to work on a school assignment together. It was a nightmare until she finally admitted that she liked me. The next thing I knew, we were an item. It kind of happened overnight. Anyway, I was not at all eager to tell Drake the news. She kept urging me. I even had a dream that Drake's head exploded when I told him."

Josh saw that Jean was looking down, writing and writing. He waited. Leaning over, almost conspiratorially, when she lifted her head at his silence, he asked, "That symbolism is probably pretty important, don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow and winked.

Picking up his story, Josh told the doctor, "I kept putting it off. I even lied to Mindy and told her I'd gone to Drake. So Mindy decided to end our relationship. It hurt the poor girl's feelings when she thought I was ashamed of our relationship. THEN I had the courage to tell Drake, because I felt badly. Drake told me the oddest thing then, Jean - that he didn't like most of the girls he went out with, so it didn't matter whether or not he liked Mindy, that it shouldn't stop me from going out with her. It was Drake himself who urged me to pursue her, in fact. He went with me to her house that same night. I stood on his shoulders, so I could talk to Mindy at her bedroom window. Sort of like a twisted scene right out of _Romeo and Juliet_. I mean, he was right there when we had our first kiss." Josh inched his chair a little closer to Jean's.

"See what I'm saying? Tangled." Josh ran his hand through his hair. "Even though Drake couldn't stand Mindy, he encouraged me to be with her, not take 'no' for an answer. My emerging sex drive, taboo feelings for my stepbrother, all the teenage angst, the pent-up lust, Mindy suddenly turning into a girlfriend instead of an enemy, all of it was rolled right up together."

"You and Mindy decided to keep going out then, since Drake told you it was okay and helped you to woo her?"

"Yes! I _needed_ that experience. I'd wanted it for so long. Drake understood that intuitively, and he tried to keep himself out of it. But she and I were together at the house so much. We didn't like to spend much time at Casa Crenshaw; the atmosphere was too _frosty_. But one weekend the Crenshaws were away, so we bribed Mindy's younger brother to leave us alone and keep his mouth shut. We lost our virginity together in Mindy's pretty bedroom, in her four-poster bed. We were both so nervous and excited! We were _equals_ on that playing field. That's a milestone and a precious memory you never forget. I could barely look at the Crenshaws without feeling guilty after that. We continued our, um, exploration, whenever we got the chance. So Drake was around us, at school and at home, because of our family situation, and after a while, he couldn't bite his tongue any longer. Thus began the insults and sniping. And Mindy gave it right back, too. Anyway, because of our intimacy, Mindy thought she might be in love with me, but we hadn't dated anyone else, to compare, so Mindy broke up with me, again. Jean, the two of them – Drake and Mindy – they are both stubborn as mules, to this day!"

Josh grinned and added, "I like to kid myself, that I've got them in harness." He pretended to crack an imaginary whip.

"How do you manage it?" the curious doctor inquired.

Josh grinned again, even bigger. "Why, S-E-X, of course! I've got to keep them coming back for more. You see this planner?" He picked up a black, leather-bound daytimer that he had set on the desk with his keys when he had arrived. "Mindy gave it to me last Christmas. I get a new one every year. It's got a combination lock. I keep a tally in here. I make sure I treat Drake and Mindy the same. Even stevens. If I give one a gift, then the other one gets one, too. If I make love to one, well, then the other has a turn. They both get the same number of days and nights, even if they don't know it. In my madness, I try to be scrupulous. It gets really tricky around birthdays and holidays. Now you're not going to tell on me, are you?" Josh's eyes danced and he looked at the doctor, bemused, while she dutifully made her notes.

"No! Certainly not. But, Josh, it sounds like this takes a lot of time and energy on your part."

"Oh, it does. But I can't stop. There's no gettin' off this bus – unless I throw myself under the wheels. I have to keep in shape, healthy, alert, ahead of the pack. Mindy and I are working our way through the Kama Sutra. And I defy any one of those fangirls to satisfy Drake the way that I do. I've made a study of him. Of them both. I know what they like and I try to give them what they need. I'm very inventive. Especially with Drake, I have to keep him surprised, off-balance. That's why I'm not a very good person, Jean. I've morphed myself into what _passes_ for the perfect boyfriend, because if _**I**_ don't want to do something, well, I can always use the other one as an excuse. If it looks like trouble's brewing, I take myself out of the picture. As long as they each think the other one might be getting the upper hand, then it makes them a lot more amenable, maybe more eager to please me, instead of just trying to be bossy all the time. Mindy and Drake are both strong personalities. Confident. Liking to be in control, or at least _thinking_ they are in control. I have to be on my toes, watch what I say and do. Like my sister Megan once told me, you've got to stay 'one step ahead.' That's why this whole idea, of working out a better arrangement, frightens the life out of me."

The counselor was writing as fast as the words left Josh's mouth. "Can't you see any benefits that might come of it? Any benefits that you yourself might WANT from it? Better communication might actually take some of this self-imposed pressure off of you. If you could relax and feel that they were both equally committed to you and willing to compromise - "

Josh interrupted and said urgently, "If Drake and Mindy team up against me, I am SO dead meat. I do not like to argue. I don't mind a _discussion_ here and there. Some people like to fight, but not me. I mean, it's important to stand your ground, for what you believe in, but I don't like shouting, saying and hearing hurtful, angry things. Let me give you an example. Back in the day, when I grew my first moustache, I was really proud of it. Mindy didn't like it. Drake didn't like it. Mindy tried to give me a few gentle hints at first, that she wanted me to shave it off. When that didn't work, she told me flat out that she wouldn't kiss me until I did. I didn't want her to think she could tell me what to do, so I refused. She teased me, Jean, tried to tempt me with apricot lip gloss. Well, once Drake got wind of it, then he decided to make his opinion known: HE thought I should shave it off, too! They ganged up on me. It was only recently that I learned that Mindy paid my little sister Megan to use my dad's electric razor and shave it while I was asleep. You see what I'm dealing with? If I don't have any more bargaining chips up my sleeve, I might as well be a rug, so they can walk all over me. It would just be me in the middle and the two of them staring at me down a gun barrel. I wouldn't stand a chance." Josh was really fidgeting now.

"Do you think you can tell me what your greatest concern would be? What outcome do you fear the most?"

Josh gulped a few mouthfuls of air. "The first one that comes to mind, even though it's irrational, would be that Mindy would fall in love with Drake and he would steal her away from me, so I'd lose them both at the same time."

In a soothing tone the doctor replied, "Based on what you've told me, that would seem highly unlikely."

"Well, you know that love and hate are at opposite ends of the same spectrum of feeling, so there's a remote possibility at any rate." Josh reached in his pocket and pulled out some Tums and popped several into his mouth. Then he locked his fingers together in an effort to keep his hands still.

Jean could clearly see he was upset, so she prompted, "Josh, we're reaching our time limit for today's meeting. I don't want to end it this way. I want you to do a few things for me. First, go to your doctor and get a complete physical. Next, I have some sheets of questions I want you to answer. Don't think about them at any length, just write the first answer that comes to mind. I'm going to let you take these with you and bring them back next time. But I want to stop this session with something less stressful for you. Can you quickly tell me of some happy memories with either Drake or Mindy or each of them that you can hold in your mind when you leave here?"

"Sure. There are plenty of those. I'm so proud of both of them, Jean, so lucky that either of them would have me. Mindy's a scientist, _and_ an engineer. I'm sure she's a genius. She's involved in that international superconductor project in Switzerland, part of the U.S. team. Locally, she works for a company that makes buildings safer from earthquakes. Anyway, Mindy was due to receive an award for her research work in physics. She picked me to accompany her to the banquet. When she accepted her trophy, in her speech, she named me and thanked me and said what an inspiration and support I am for her. She had tears in her eyes. What a thrill to know that someone who's making the world a better place finds 'inspiration and support' in your arms!" Telling that did seem to make Josh start to relax.

"Okay. Now Drake. I guess you know he's a musician: six albums and working on the next one. He plays the piano, the guitar, the banjo, even the drums a little. He's been writing songs ever since I've known him and that's his gift to the world: making music. He's so talented and he works very hard at it. People think he's cocky and sarcastic. But he can be sweet and funny, too – you probably haven't seen that side of him yet. Last Christmas Eve, he had himself delivered in a giant gift box. I wasn't expecting him to make it home from his tour and I was heading out the door to the relatives, so it was an incredible surprise. When I took the top off, he popped out wearing Rudolph antlers, a red nose, and two big, sparkly bows stuck to his shirt."

Josh used his hands on his own chest to show that the bows covered the nipples, "He sang for me - _'All I Want for Christmas is You'_ - while prancing in front of the Christmas tree, holding his hands up like little hooves." Josh demonstrated. "He knows I'm a sucker for that kind of thing." Josh was definitely beaming. "We redefined 'reindeer games' that night!"

Dr. Horvalu said nothing but, warmly smiling in response, she squeezed Josh's arm, and escorted him to the door after he'd collected his planner and his keys. She handed Josh two sets of the blue papers. Josh nodded his acknowledgment and left, heading towards the receptionist's desk.

Jean shut the door after him. She buzzed Sandy. "I've got about 20 minutes until my next session. I'm going to stay in here and do some research on the internet, so I'd appreciate it if you could field my calls!"

The psychotherapist turned to her computer screen and entered "Drake Parker" in the search box. While the response page was loading, she opened a second tab on Google and typed in "Mindy Crenshaw."

Continued in Chapter 10


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